Reply to Financial Aid for Twins/Multiple Children for CSS Profile Schools

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[quote=Anonymous]The previous system wasn't a "subsidy" it was thinking logically about what the EFC was meant to represent. The EFC ([b]Expected Family Contribution[/b]) was designed to represent/calculate how much a family could reasonably be expected to pay for college THAT YEAR.

So, imagining a family's EFC was $50k...that meant that, based upon income/assets/etc, a family would be "expected" to pay $50k. Hence, if you had 2 in college, and schools met full need/used this rationale/etc, they'd each expect ~$25k ($25k x 2 = $50k, what the family could afford to pay that year). The family is still paying what they are calculated to be able to pay, just spread over (in this scenario) two institutions.

The new SAI (Student Aid Index), which has replaced the EFC, is structured with an entirely different framework. It is NOT what a student/family is "expected to pay," it is [i]how much federal aid a student needs[/i]. It is likely that CSS Profile schools will still account for multiple students in college (/cost) in their calculations.

Consider this extreme example to illustrate why/how:

Imagine a low income family had a $10k EFC under the "old" system. They had 2 in college, paying $5k to each.

Now imagine these students/family under the "new" system. It's not as though financial aid offices think/expect that this family suddenly has twice as much money to be able to afford $20k a year. The financial aid formulas are seeking to identify how much [u]need[/u]  a student/family has. I expect CSS Profile schools will likely build in college expenses for siblings, much as they can/do account for things like medical expenses, etc. [/quote]

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